Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-03-18
RUINED BY HIS GOOD LUCK.
A Man Who Won Half a Million Dollars and is
Now Almost Beggar.

A Man Who Won Half Million Dollars ana is
Now Almost Beggar.
A Philadelphia dispatch to the Chicago
Mail says: Richard Penistan, who was
admitted to the Forest Home this week,
is a man with a history. His good luck
proved his ruin. He was rich few
years ago, but has become almost beg
gar. He and his wife were of English
birth. They were members of the stock
company of the Arch street thea:er, and
played important parts before Wheatley
and Drew became the lessees, IN 1852.
Mrs. Penistan, who died long ago, was
also playwright, and several of her plays
were represented on the American stage.
Soon after the dissolution of the old
Arch street company Mr.. Penistan open
ed a drinking place. He had large
patronage, and in the course of time &C
cumulated a great deal of money. In
1873 the official announcement of the
drawing of the Royal Havana lottery in
formed him that his 500 ticket had
drawn S5OO,O0O. At this time he was the
owner of sixty-two horses, many of them
very valuable. In company with his
frieEd Whitney, the brewer, Mr.. Penlstan
at once went to New York and placed the
ticket for collection with August Belmont,
receiving in cash, after some delay and
litigction with Mr.. Whitney, who claimed
a share of the prize-which was, however,
disallowed by the courts-S420,00O.
Upon returning to Philadelphia, Mr..
Penistan sold his place on Chestnut street,
with portion of the stock, for $4,000.
In Ill he had at least 100000 He was
a genial man and had many friends,
some of them true ones, who advised him
to put half, if not more, of his money in
a trust fund. Instead of this he began OPP
erations in Sd street. Inside of two years
he had dropped there from $4,000 to
100000. His dealing in horses, too, went
on all the while, and he lost heavily on
stud farm near Lexington, KY. He was,
besides this, badly defrauded by the
agents who ran or trotted his horses IN
races, and his blooded colts were sold at
auct on, although well advertised and of
irreproachable pedigree, went for song,
buyers combining not to bid against each
other and dividing up the poorly paid for
stock afterward. In fact, he was remorse-
lessly skinned by horsemen, and IN less
than six years was reduced to bare llv-
ing upon the income of some few invest
ments he had made in his wealthy days.
L his Hnaliy was exhausted, anu ioE sone
years past he has been indebted to the
kindness of friends for his substance.
He, however, bred some noted horses, one
of which, Grafton, trotter with a record
of 2:15, was sold TO Robert Bonner for
$4,000. Mr.. Bonner also bought his
Lady Stewart, with q record of 2:2S. the
fastest time up to then that a 3-yeor-old
had ever made. In his prosperous days,
too, he occasionally appeared upon the
stage in heavy tragedy, hiring the horse
himself and playin with good deal OF
spirit, and not without approval, and he
nov finds home in the pleasant retreat
endowed by the great actor, of whom he
was most fervent admirer. All his
friends belive that if Richard Penistan
had not drawn that lottery prize he would
to-day be a wealthy man.